Family members providing care to a relative with dementia often become anxious or depressed, but there are very few interventions available that will help improve their mental health. A team of researchers at University College London (UCL) led by , developed START (Strategies for RelaTives) for family members of relatives with dementia and found it was very successful in reducing depression and anxiety in the short and long term.
START is an eight session, manual-based one-to-one programme for family members, currently delivered within the NHS by supervised psychology graduates. Together with stakeholders in the Third Sector, and members of Minority Ethnic (ME) groups we are currently looking at ways to make START more widely available.
START covers the following areas:
Session 1 Stress and Well-Being
Session 2 Reasons for changes in behaviour
Session 3 Making a behaviour plan
Session 4 Behaviour strategies and unhelpful thoughts
Session 5 Communication
Session 6 Planning for the future
Session 7 Pleasant events and your mood
Session 8 What works? Using skills and strategies in the future